CAROLINA ON OUR MIND HAP P ENIN G S AT U N C
taking the
reins
UNC Field Hockey’s Erin Matson scores big as new head coach By Lauri e D. Wi l l i s
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PHOTO BY UNC ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
rin Matson, UNC’s most decorated women’s field hockey player and arguably the greatest women’s player of all time, was named Carolina’s next head field hockey coach in January. She follows Karen Shelton, who announced her retirement in December. Erin said in a press conference on Feb. 2 she’s always dreamt of coaching the sport she loves, knows the ins and outs of Carolina’s program and is the best person to succeed Karen, who coached the team for 42 years. Karen, who became the program’s head coach in 1981, retired after winning 10 national championships and 25 Atlantic Coast Conference championships and posting five undefeated seasons. Erin, who played on four of those national championship teams, was announced as Karen’s successor on Jan. 31.
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After graduating from UNC in December, Erin was named the head coach on Jan. 31.
Erin graduated in December with a bachelor’s degree in communications and media after collecting numerous awards and records on the field, including three Honda Sport awards for field hockey, joining Karen as the only other player to win the recognition three times; the all-time scoring leader in ACC history and NCAA tournament play; and five ACC Offensive Player of the Year awards. Erin also started on three of Carolina’s five undefeated field hockey teams. She honed her skills in the basement of her home in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, where she punched holes in the wall and nicked the furniture as she practiced her shots, according to a 2020 feature in the Carolina Alumni Review. As a freshman living in Avery Residence Hall overlooking Shelton Stadium, where the lights stayed on until 10 p.m., she would frequently sneak out to the field with a bucket of balls to practice shots. Her teammates at the time said they didn’t know how much time Erin practiced on her own. “I enjoy it, and it makes me better,” Erin told the Review. “So why wouldn’t I want to do it?”